Volume 44: Success Is Not Proof Of God’s Approval—and It Doesn’t Mean God Is With You

SUCCESS IS NOT PROOF OF GOD’S APPROVAL—AND IT DOESN’T MEAN GOD IS WITH YOU

One of the most dangerous signs of being far from God is that your life can still appear to be working.

Never mistake prosperity for His presence, popularity for His approval, or success for His favor—Cain’s life proves that you can keep building even after walking away from the presence of the LORD.

Cain walked “out from the presence of the LORD,” but he did not walk into immediate failure. He built. His family grew. His descendants became skilled, creative, productive, and innovative. Civilization advanced. That is what makes Genesis 4 so revealing: distance from God did not stop human progress. They were accomplishing more while spiritually becoming worse.

LIFE CAN PROGRESS WHILE PEOPLE MOVE FARTHER FROM GOD

After Cain murders Abel, Genesis 4 explains how Cain departs “out from the presence of the LORD” (Genesis 4:16), yet human civilization keeps advancing.

Cain builds a city (Genesis 4:17). His descendants develop livestock culture (Genesis 4:20), music and instruments (Genesis 4:21), and metallurgy and tools (Genesis 4:22).

Metallurgy is the science and skill of working with metals—extracting them, heating them, shaping them, combining them, and turning them into objects such as tools and weapons.

But look at what is simultaneously happening morally. Earlier, Cain killed one man and feared judgment. A few generations later, Lamech is bragging about killing a man:

“I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt” (Genesis 4:23).

Cain committed violence. Lamech’s words celebrated it. Sin that produced fear and shame in one generation had become something worth boasting about in another.

THAT PREACHES DIRECTLY TO TODAY

Scripture warns that “the love of many shall wax cold” as iniquity abounds (Matthew 24:12). We see that progression of sin when sexual immorality becomes celebrated, violence becomes entertainment, deception becomes cleverness, greed becomes ambition, drunkenness becomes recreation, revenge becomes strength, pride becomes confidence, and rebellion becomes independence. Sin has not changed; our sensitivity to it has.

That is extremely relevant to modern society. We can build artificial intelligence, perform sophisticated surgeries, communicate across the world instantly, build mega-churches, create incredible music, construct skyscrapers, and put machines in space—and none of those achievements answer the most important question: Are we becoming better people who deeply desire to live in God’s presence?

I personally know some very popular, wealthy, influential, and powerful people around the world, and especially here in America. I have watched people achieve levels of success that most will never experience. They have money, recognition, access, influence, impressive careers, large platforms, and names that open doors. Some even speak openly about God, attend church, quote Scripture, pray publicly, or identify themselves as Christians. Yet proximity to Christian language is not the same as intimacy with Christ. I have also witnessed relationships with God that appear superficial because the fruit simply is not there.

Jesus said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). He did not say we would know people by their wealth, popularity, platform, title, influence, church attendance, vocabulary, or ability to say the right spiritual things. Fruit reveals what leaves can hide. A person can look enormously successful to the world while being spiritually empty before God.

That truth should also keep us from being overly impressed by people simply because they are successful. Wealth does not prove God’s approval. Popularity does not prove God’s presence. Influence does not prove spiritual maturity. A large platform does not prove a fruitful life. Never confuse somebody’s ability to build something impressive with evidence that God is pleased with what they are becoming.

Genesis 4 warns us not to confuse what humanity can accomplish with what humanity is becoming. Advancement is not evidence of righteousness. Intelligence is not evidence of intimacy with God. Talent is not evidence of His presence. Success is not evidence of His approval.

You can be progressing professionally while declining spiritually. You can have more money and less character, more education and less wisdom, more followers and less obedience, more influence and less integrity, more church activity and less of God. Everything around you can look like it is going up while everything within you is moving farther away from Him.

AND THEN GENESIS 4 ENDS WITH A CONTRAST

After showing the development of Cain’s line, Scripture quickly turns back to Adam and Eve: “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth…” (Genesis 4:25).

Then comes the closing statement: “Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26).

That gives us a powerful contrast running through the chapter. One line develops civilization while moving away from God’s presence; another begins calling upon the name of the LORD.

The lesson is not that innovation, creativity, technology, music, cities, tools, wealth, influence, or human advancement are necessarily evil. The warning is that you can build an impressive life without living in the presence of God.

You can become powerful without becoming godly. And thousands of years later, humanity is still capable of making the same mistake.

So perhaps the greatest question Genesis 4 leaves us with is not, “What are you building?” It is, “How surrendered are you to God while you are building it?”